Opening a café in Germany: what you need for a café or bakery café

What kind of café will it be?

Specialty coffee bar, classic coffee house, breakfast café, patisserie with seating or bakery with a café corner: the concept decides the space, equipment, staff and permits. The more you bake and cook yourself, the more kitchen, ventilation and hygiene effort you need to plan for. The more you buy in, the easier the start, but the more important a clear profile becomes against chains and bakery branches.

• Coffee bar: little space, high turnover, focus on coffee quality and takeaway.
• Breakfast and brunch café: more kitchen, longer stays, weekend reservations.
• Patisserie café: own cakes and pastries, needs a bakery and skilled staff.
• Bakery café: retail and hospitality under one roof, often with early opening hours.

You will find the general process with trade registration, tax office, staff and timeline in our guide Opening a restaurant in Germany. This guide covers what is special about cafés.

Do you need a Gaststättenerlaubnis?

That depends on your drinks and your federal state. Under § 2 (2) GastG, serving non-alcoholic drinks and selling prepared food require no licence. A café that only offers coffee, tea, lemonades, juices, cake and breakfast therefore needs no licence in the seven states with the federal Gaststättengesetz. The trade registration under § 14 GewO is still mandatory.

Many cafés, however, want to offer an Aperol, prosecco with brunch or a coffee with a dash of something. In states with federal law, you then need a Gaststättenerlaubnis, including the IHK Unterrichtungsnachweis (certificate from the Chamber of Commerce briefing). In states with their own hospitality law, such as Lower Saxony, Saxony or Hesse, a notice (Anzeige) is enough, and the authority checks your reliability. Since 2026, Baden-Württemberg has required a notice for every fixed-location hospitality business, even without alcohol. The state table in our guide to the Gaststättenerlaubnis shows which model applies where.

Baking yourself: master craftsperson rules and the Handwerksrolle

Baker and pastry chef are listed in Annex A of the Handwerksordnung (Crafts Code) and are licensed crafts. Anyone who runs such a craft independently from a fixed location must be entered in the Handwerksrolle under § 1 HwO. For this, the business usually needs a master craftsperson (Meister), either you or an employed manager. There are exceptions, for example for experienced journeymen.

Not every homemade cake turns your café into a craft business. The Handwerksordnung recognises minor activities (§ 1 (2) HwO) that can be learned in a short time, and the insignificant ancillary business (§ 3 HwO), whose scope does not exceed the average annual working time of a one-person craft business. The Handwerkskammer (Chamber of Crafts) will tell you bindingly where the line lies for your concept. Ask there before you set up a bakery.

Equipment and premises

Equipment eats up a large share of your start-up capital. Budget not only for the purchase but also for maintenance, water filters and spare parts. How many guests a day you then need to cover rent, repayments and staff is shown by the free break-even calculator for your café. Used equipment from dealers who offer a warranty is a good option, as long as hygiene and manufacturer service are in order.

If a shop is turned into a café, the building authority reviews the change of use (Nutzungsänderung): toilets, escape routes, ventilation and parking spaces. For hygiene, the IfSG briefing (under the Infection Protection Act), HACCP self-checks and inspections by the food inspection authority apply, as in any hospitality business.

Outdoor seating: a street-use permit for the terrace

Tables and chairs on a public pavement or square count as special use (Sondernutzung) of the street. For this, you need a Sondernutzungserlaubnis under your state's road law and your municipality's bylaws; usually the public order office or the civil engineering office (Tiefbauamt) is responsible. The municipality normally charges a fee per square metre and season and can set conditions on furniture, umbrellas, walkway width and opening times.

• Apply in good time: for the summer season, it is best to submit the application in winter.
• Consider the neighbours: outdoor seating areas often have shorter evening hours than indoors.
• Private land: even on your own property, a building permit for outdoor service may be required.
• Hospitality law: where a licence is required, it must also cover the outdoor area.

Allergens, prices and drinks menu

Cakes, croissants and milk alternatives are full of allergens: gluten, egg, milk, nuts, soy. For unpackaged food, you must provide information on the 14 main allergens under the LMIV (the EU Food Information Regulation); in Germany, under the Lebensmittelinformations-Durchführungsverordnung, this can be done in writing or, under certain conditions, verbally with written documentation. Our guide to allergens in Germany explains how; the allergen labelling generator creates the matching legend.

Under § 13 PAngV (Preisangabenverordnung, the Price Indication Ordinance), restaurants need a price list for food and drinks that is placed on the tables or shown before ordering. A list of the main prices belongs next to the entrance. For cakes in the display, price tags on the goods are enough. Service charges and surcharges must be included in the prices. Details in our guides to price display and the digital menu.

Instagram, Google and website

Cafés live from pictures: latte art, cakes, breakfast in the morning light. That makes Instagram the most important channel for many. But people mainly find you on Google Maps when they search for “café near me”. A complete Google Business Profile with photos, opening hours and the category “Café” is therefore essential, and your own website with menu and breakfast times means guests do not have to dig through Instagram stories to find your opening hours.